"The decision to go on the 15-day disabled list was an easy one for Raul Ibanez

As much as he didn't want to disrupt his career season, the Phillies' left fielder was clearly limping Wednesday night when he grounded out in the fourth inning, and he was struggling to chase down balls in the outfield.

But it wasn't his Achilles' tendon that was the problem as much as a previously undisclosed left groin strain the Phillies say has been bothering him off and on since April.

Once it started affecting his play, Ibanez knew it was time to let it heal. So he didn't try protesting when the Phillies' medical staff recommended that he go on the disabled list. Ibanez and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro agree that he might need more than the minimum 15 days to recuperate.

"It was the right time, and they talked some sense into me," Ibanez said. "It's better to lose a little time now than in August and September. This isn't the worst-case scenario."

Ibanez, who was signed as a free agent last winter to replace Pat Burrell, was scheduled to have an MRI exam either Thursday night or today. Ibanez, 37, is hitting .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs. It's his best start ever.

He ranks second in the National League in homers, RBIs and runs scored (51), and he is the leading vote-getter among NL outfielders for the July 14 All-Star Game.

If he misses the minimum of 15 days, he will return July 3.

But Ibanez's injury was clearly affecting him. In his last 12 games, from June 3 through Wednesday, Ibanez was hitting .208 with three homers and eight RBIs. He said the Achilles' also was bothering him but that the groin strain had become a much bigger issue.

Ibanez sat out the Phillies' game Sunday, which the team said was for a day of rest. It ended his consecutive-games streak at 222. At the time, Ibanez said his Achilles' was bothering him because of a new pair of shoes he was wearing, but nobody mentioned the groin strain."